Paranormal Retno specializes in sexual problems

Paranormal Retno specializes in sexual problems

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Do you want to stay young?

Paranormal Retno Widati has the recipe: submerge yourself in
water at midnight under a full moon.

This is only one of the things about Retno which might impress
you.

Retno is a former fashion designer who turned to handling
sexual problems, particularly impotence, early ejaculation,
infertility and mental depression.

Thousands of people have consulted her. Every day dozens of
patients line up where ever she opens shop.

Retno began her practice late in 1988 at the age of 33 in
Yogyakarta. She moved to Jakarta four years later.

From May 31 to June 8 she practiced at Taman Mini Indonesia
Indah, along with two other traditional healers Romo H.J. Handoyo
Lukman and H.M. Hembing Wijayakusuma. The healing sessions were
among the activities organized by Taman Mini in conjunction with
the Javanese New year, which fell on May 31.

Retno became accustomed to traditional and spiritual rites at
an early age because her grandfather was a traditional healer and
her mother is an expert in jamu (traditional herbs).

She recalled that when she was still very young her
grandfather used to take her to the weekly meetings of local
paranormals and to visit the graves of respected faith healers.

"I was also bathed with air kembang (water mixed with flowers)
even though I did not understand the ritual," she said.

Javanese people say their prayers and use air kembang as an
important instrument in the rituals because they believe this
will bring safety and prevent problems.

Born in Surakarta, Central Java, Retno learned about jamu by
watching her mother make the traditional herb medicines. But the
young Retno, who left school in her second year of the senior
high, was not interested in making a living from jamu. She
learned how to sew and became a seamstress.

In 1973 she got married. Her first child was born in 1975 and
she had another within the next two years. The marriage ended in
1979.

Retno left her hometown in 1982 to try her luck in Jakarta.
She worked at PT Pembangunan Jaya and took every course offered
at the Bunka School of Fashion.

With her new skill, Retno moved to Yogyakarta to start a
career as a fashion designer. But became disappointed because she
couldn't fully develop her creativity.

"People treated me like a seamstress," she said.

While still upset, she met several faith healers who taught
her about spiritual exercises such as fasting and meditating.

Momentous

Her life changed one night when she was meditating in the
place where Panembahan Senopati, the first king of the Mataram
Kingdom, used to perform spiritual exercises, in Parangkusumo,
near the holiday resort of Parangtritis beach.

"After meditating for several hours, I saw lights coming from
four directions. And there were vibrations, it was like a voice,
but not a strong voice. The voice seemed to come from inside
myself, saying it was time to help other people," she told The
Jakarta Post early this week.

The juru kunci (the person in charge of guarding a place
regarded to be sacred), also saw the lights and immediately told
people in the neighborhood that Retno had got wahyu (divine
inspiration). The news spread very fast.

In the morning, many people crowded Retno's house, asking her
to help them with their various problems.

"But I had doubts. I was afraid I couldn't help. Therefore I
meditated again for another several days until I got a lead. I
was inspired to specialize in sex-related problems, such as
impotency and infertility," she said.

She claimed she could help men who were impotent because of
stress or diabetes because it paralyzed some nerves. But she
couldn't handle sexually-transmitted diseases because they are
caused by viruses.

Stress can affect people badly. One of her patients was a
judge who was seriously ill because of stress after he made a
decision on a land case which went against his conscience. He
became impotent, his joints became stiff and his skin blackened
as if burned.

Retno handled the impotency and referred him to see her
colleague to deal with his other problems.

"I can't handle all kinds of maladies. If there is a
complication, I ask my patient to see another healer," she said.

How does she heal her patients?

"By supernatural means: prayers, meditation, and mantra," she
replied.

Traditional herbs and massages are two other important factors
in the treatment.

She massages the patients with her fingers and presses certain
nerves, depending on the problems, and runs burning incense just
above the skin to improve circulation.

She said that several healthy men had pretended to be ill and
asked for her help.

"But I knew that they were lying from their eyes and
attitude," Retno said, adding that she told them not to come
again.

A strong smell of the burning incense fills her consultation
room. There were three kris, a bowl of air kembang and a kendi
(traditional water jar made of clay), on the table.

"I don't worship kris. I put them here as decoration. It would
be funny if I had crystal ball in the room," said the serious
looking woman.

After finishing up on Friday, she left for Surabaya where she
will open shop in a boarding house of the Jamu Jago company on
Jl. Taman Putro Agung 5, phone (031) 360-491.

The jamu company is planning to launch a new product based on
Retno's prescription.

Retno said she has moved to Surabaya in response to demand
and because of a (wangsit) divine inspiration that she recently
got.

"I don't get wangsit very often. Only once every few years,"
she said.

She admitted that only 70 percent of her patients are healed.
Retno gives the rest moral and spiritual support.

The majority of her patients are from the upper-middle class,
including top government army officials and tycoons, she
divulged.

Most of the women who come to her complain that they haven't
had children after years of marriage, a few others were frigid.

Infertility

Candrawati Heru and Agung sought her help to cope with their
infertility. Six years after the marriage, they remained
childless.

Candrawati, 33, told the Post she visited Retno for the first
time in September after reading an article and watching a TV
talk-show about the popular faith healer.

She said that Retno massaged her lower stomach, as well as her
husband's, and heated them with the burning incense.

In October Candrawati became pregnant.

"I was really happy. I cried and I thanked God," she said.

Candrawati was so weak during her pregnancy that she was
bedridden for a month.

The baby was born on May 12 and was named Maria Angelina.

Candrawati said that before she consulted Retno, she had also
seen two other faith healers.

She turned to paranormals after modern medication failed.

"My doctor told me that my ovum was too small. Upon his
suggestion, I had some hormone injections. But this didn't work,"
she said.

"I even underwent artificial insemination, which failed," she
said.

Asked how much Retno charged her, Candrawati said that the
faith healer did not set the tariff.

"It all depended on us," she said.

Retno handled 60 patients a day from her rented house in Pasar
Minggu.

Even in the middle of hectic days, she said always found time
for herself.

"When I want to meditate, I ask God to give me time and thank
God, the patients don't come," she added.

Retno does spiritual exercises regularly. Two days a week she
eats nothing but cassavas, potatoes or other tubers. Once a month
she goes to a lake, a river or a spring where she will stay
submerged for about an hour under a full moon. Sometimes she
meditates at the top of a mountain or at the beach.

For Retno, spiritual exercises are like charging the "battery"
of her spiritual power.

"This is as if you absorb the energy from the nature and put
it inside your body," she explained.

Retno is the chairwoman of the Yogyakarta-based Information
Center of Paranormals, which was established in 1991.

Paranormals have their own fields of expertise, Retno said.
For example, there are paranormals who can cure diseases, drive
away evil spirits, find stolen things or prevent rain.

Even though Retno is a paranormal, she does not fence herself
in the spiritual circle all the time. She listens to the radio
and enjoys popular music from the 1960s. Among her favorite
singers are Skeeter Davis, Tom Jones, Titik Puspa, Ernie Djohan
and Lilies Suryani.

"Once in a while I go to the Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center
to see a play," she said.

Retno, who loves a hot shower, doesn't wear traditional
dresses. Her favorite daily outfit is jeans. Black, dark blue and
deep red are the colors she likes best.

Asked if she has ever suffered stress, Retno replied:
"Everybody must have experienced stress."

She suggested that people do things they really like -- things
which can give them the feeling of satisfaction -- to cope with
stress.

"Stress can be converted into energy," she said.

Retno's philosophy of life is to live like water.

"Sometimes it stops in a pond, or a river or a sea. But it
does not really stand still. Burned by the heat of the sun, it
will moisturize, then become a cloud and fall again in the shape
of rain drops," she said.

It doesn't always rain in the area even though it is cloudy.
As the wind blows, the cloud will move to another area, where
rain drops will fall. Again, this symbolizes life, which is
moving. Life is not static, but what will happen in our life
doesn't entirely depend on human efforts.

"It is God, the Creator, who has the final decision in life,"
she asserted.